Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

If anyone has ever heard of anything like this or know anyone who might know please let me know, I am starting to give up and don't know what else to do. I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

In January I got a yeast infection for the first time in my life. I have had chronic urinary tract infections for about 4 years now, the doctors don't know what it is, but that's a whole other story... Or maybe it's related.
Anyway, all this started a few weeks after having sex with my new (at the time) boyfriend. The thing is both of us got checked for every known STD and we are both clean.

Anyway, it started with what I thought was a UTI, and a couple weeks after the antibiotics I got the yeast infection. The Gyn told me it is common to get a yeast infection after antibiotics, but I have been taking antibiotics for the past three years for the chronic UTI's and never had any problems. Anyway, for the yeast infection I took some Monistat and a month after the yeast infection was "cured" it came back. This time the Gyn told my I have both a yeast infection and a bacterial one, and prescribed both some cream for the yeast infection and some antibiotics.

When I was done taking the stuff, the vulvar area still burned and itched. The Gyn said I have nothing, so I just waited to see if it will go away. Well, it still hasnít, after 5 months, it still burns. A few weeks ago it itched like crazy, but I already went to two other Gyn's and they say everything looks normal and I have no infections. But it's not normal. It is more red than usual, feels dry, and I can't have sex any more because it hurts A LOT.

I tried to have sex a few days ago after not having any for 3 months, and the pain was just unbearable. The whole area swelled up about 3 times the normal size, and burned for an entire day. Also, every time I tried to have sex, no matter what, I keep getting this cut in the skin of the opening, which heals up after about 3 days and always reopens. The gyn checked me for herpes, but I don't have it.

One time after sex it looked like the skin was actually peeling above the urethra. Most of the time the pain doesn't bother me too much. I feel it all the time though. It hurts when I urinate most of the time, and about 3 months ago, I started having a burning feeling and sometimes little cuts when I have bowel movement.

It is really depressing me that the gyn's have no idea what's wrong and how to fix it. I'm just 21. The gyn thought maybe I have vaginal dryness because I was taking a low dose birth control and prescribed a higher dose, but it didn't help. She thought maybe it's from the different creams I used to cure the yeast infection and gave me another cream to cure that, but it did nothing. Actually, ever since this problem started, every cream I use starts out ok but after about 3 days it just burns like crazy when I put it on. The burning from the cream and from sex and urination is almost always the same; it feels like either a really really hot burn that is so hot it feels cold. I know that sounds crazy but that's the best way to describe it. Like when you put your hand under really hot water it feels like it's cold.

I think that's all the symptoms. Twice during this time I thought I have a UTI because I had the pain of a UTI (not the same as the pain described above) but the cultures came back negative. The doctors thought it might be Interstitial Cystitis, if anyone ever heard of that, but that wouldnít explain why my vulva skin and anus burn all the time, just the pain during urination.
I also have really sharp pain in my lower abdomen every now and then, which lasts for a few minutes but I'm not sure it's related.

I don't have any known allergies, don't use any soaps or perfumes in that area, or use scented pads.

Sorry this message is so long, I just wanted to make sure I add all the details. I really appreciate it if you took the time to read this or if you can help.

__________________
TO visualise the 4th dimension, think outside the box.

Re: Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

I don't quite know how much help I can be, but here it goes.

Internal cysts are painful. All cysts can be. Infact most women have them and dont know they do. Ruptures cause immense pain. Cysts are where liquid filled (most of the time they are liquid) sacs grow inside your uturus, ovaries, or around the area. Internal, i believe, are in the inside the lining of the uturus. I have had ovarian cysts for the past 3 years with ruptures and they hurt and cause me to have immense pain.

B.C. causes odd reactions. I am on Depo Provera, and I have pain during sex. Infact it is sometimes unbearable. Does he use a condom? Sometimes I wonder if I am allergic to the latex. It soulds like your swelling is an allergic reaction. Are you using KY Gel or astroglide or soemthing that may cause a reaction? Spermicides in condoms or in general have been known to have reactions. Do you have your period? Do you use tampons, if so are you often irritated by them? You may want to switch pills and see if a different dosage helps. The bc may not be helping get rid of your UTIs and Yeast infectons.

Is it possibly mental, do you think about the pain that will possibly come instead of enjoying what is going on? It doesnt really explain the swelling. You might want to go in after you have sex to show them of the swelling.

UTI and Yeast infections are hard to get rid of. I had on and off UTI's for a year and a half, and it sucks. Things that might help are drinking juices, like cranberry. Staying hydrated - drinking things like gatorade to flush out your system. Makingsure that the things that go near your areas are clean, and even cleaning there before and after sex. Even just going to the bathroom after sex helps. Do internet searches and it will give advice on what you ccan do and how to avoid them. Some sound off the wall, but no one really knows why you get them.

I would do 2 things. 1 is get an allergy test, and 2 is call another doctor and make an appointment. Make it sound as bad as it is, and let them know you want soemthing done. This sounds like its been going on too long for something not to be fixed. If you cannot find another doctor outside of the practice, I would call your doctor everyday and let them konw its not resolved.

Re: Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

Maybe ask the doctor if you could have a perscription for some Diflucan. It's an oral yeast infection med and only one pill. I get a horrible reaction from creams and usually have a worse rash afterwards than I had before using it! The doc actually has told me never to use the cream and to always call her and she will call me in a script to the Diflucan.

Re: Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

Thank you both for replying.

Quakes99: I don't think it's a cyst, but I will ask my doctor this week when I go in for my appointment. I had an ultrasound done about 3 years ago and they said they saw liquid that looked like stuff left over from a ruptured cyst.

As for the b.c. , they already tried putting me on a higher dosage one, but I am going to not take them this month and see what happens. I really don;t think it's the b.c. either, because that wouldn't explain the pain and cuts I've been having (around my anus) after every bowel movement. Sorry for grossing anyone out.

I will also ask my doctor about the allergy test. We don't use condoms, and I have used them before with no problems. Same goes for the lub (we use KY) . A lot of times we don't even use it because there is no need for it. We didn't use it last time, so the swelling couldn't have been an allergic reaction to lub or latex.

I used both condomes and lub before all this starte and never had anything similar to this pain and swelling. The only time I ever had anything similar to this was a couple years ago when we used warming lub. The pain was unbearable. But I have never used it since.

novomom: My docotor gave me a perscription for diflucan because I am taking antibiotics now and she says a lot of times you get a yeast infection after using antibiotics. I haven't taken it yet because I don't have symptoms of a yeast infection right now, and I want to take it after I am done with the antibiotics.

Thank you both again for the advice.

__________________
TO visualise the 4th dimension, think outside the box.

Re: Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

The little cuts when you have a bowel movement could be anal fissures (not really related to the other symptoms, but maybe you have more than 1 problem?).

Hubby has anal fissures, so I know more about these than I would like. When they flare up, he has some bleeding with BMs plus they are evidently pretty painful until they heal. He thought it was hemorroids for the longest time but it is more internal than external apparently. Unfortunately, there is not much to be done for anal fissures except maybe use a cream on them when they flare and try to prevent them by eating plenty of fiber. I think the doctor told him to aim for 30g/day. That is a lot of fiber, but since he has made it a point to eat more fiber, he has much less trouble with the fissures. He drinks metamucil and tries to eat high fiber foods--for example, Quaker breakfast cookies and slimfast drinks have 5 g fiber each, figs, trail mixes, kidney beans, granola cereal are all good sources of fiber.

Re: Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

Have they checked you for BV? You say you have chronic UTI, I did as well but it turn out I have a condition called Interstitial Cystitis (which makes you more prone to infections). A special test has to be done to determine if you have it or not. You need to see a Uro-Gynecologist.

A lot of women that have IC also have a condition called Vulvodina. Itching burning, swelling. My doctor prescribed a cream called "Wonder Cream" has to made at a compounding pharmacy. It works! and I don't need it all the time just when that stuff starts I use it for a few days and always after sex.

Good luck with all this, but if you have it, accept it and deal with, that's all you can do.

Re: Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

Shiki
I'm sorry you are going through this. I am also having the same problems with the same symptoms you have. I have been to my gyn 4 times in a 5 month period for chronic burning in the vulvar area. I was treated repeatedly for a yeast infection I didn't have. I just found a doctor 2.5 hours away from me that treats people for vulvodynia. I hope your doctor helped you and if he/she did consider yourself one of the lucky ones because most don't know anything about this condition. Let me know what your doctor did for you.

Good luck

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Re: Please help, let me know if you have any ideas about what's wrong with me..

Have you been tested for HPV or genital warts? HPV causes many variations of warts (down there) and sometimes you can not see any problem visually. Have they done a PAP smear on you? If it comes back abnormal, you may have this. (This could be part of your problem!) You may/may not see anything on your partner. Sometimes it takes awhile to show up on a PAP smear or one time it will come back negative and the next time it won't.